You Are Not Alone
by samma88
Summary: Essentially AU. After defeating the Master, the Doctor suddenly recalls something from his past; something that could change his life forever. But first, he must find her...Intro chapter is very short, but more will be added very soon. *Most of this is made up off the top of my head, but it sounded like a good idea. So yeah...rated M for later chapters* 10th Doctor x OC
1. Introduction

**Prior to the Last Great Time War**

"Sweetheart, I've already made plans to stop over in Siberion. I have a few things to take care of. It won't take very long," she assured him, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Are you sure this a good idea?," he replied, looking her over as she darted around the TARDIS, checking the readings and flipping switches here and there.

"I promise, it'll only be a few days. They asked for my help, so I'm helping."

"I just feel like now isn't the best time. Something's wrong; horribly wrong."

"Doctor," she said soothingly, "You know me better than anyone else. I'll be alright."

He wrapped his arms around her, his fingers stroking her wavy black hair. Her eyes peered deep into his as he pressed his lips to hers.

"I know darling; I just don't know if it's a good idea. I worry is all."

"I'll be fine. It's only three days."

He smiled at her faintly before she walked away, and he stood there watching her TARDIS vanish.

* * *

**Present Day**

"Oh my god...," he said out loud, unaware that Martha could hear him.

"What is it Doctor?"

"What? Oh, oh it's nothing."

"I know that tone. It's not nothing. So what is it?"

He removed his glasses, polishing them on his sleeve before he looked up from the monitor and stared at her.

"We have journey to make. A very important journey," his eyes lit up to disguise the fear and confusion running rampant in his head.

"Where to?," she asked, excited.

"I'll explain when we get there," he replied, "But for now, just know that it's of utmost importance."

With that, they were off.


	2. Siberion

**Beginning of the War**

_I have to find her...This planet isn't THAT big. She has to be here..._

He searched relentlessly for her. But where could she be?

"Val!," he cried out for her, "Val! Where are you?"

Turning a corner, there she stood.

"Val, darling, I'm so glad I found you."

"Doctor, what are you doing here?"

"Sweetheart, listen to me. I need you to take this."

"What?," she looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Please Val, I don't have much time. I have to get back there. I promise I'll come back and explain everything. Just please, for me."

She stared at him, his eyes beginning to tear up and his face full of fear. It wasn't a mixture of emotions she was accustomed to seeing on him. He was always so strong when it came down to it. But here he was, begging her; he wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

"Okay," she said, "But why?"

"I don't have time for explanations right now. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, as she took the object from his hand.

With that, he was gone.

* * *

**Present Day**

"Martha! Hurry please! It's important!," the Doctor stood impatiently outside the TARDIS.

"I'm coming!," she yelled, running out the door.

"So where are we?"

"We are on the marvelous planet of Siberion!," the Doctor grinned from ear to ear.

"Siberion?"

"Yes! Isn't it beautiful? Snow-covered mountains, frozen lakes and rivers; the beauty of winter all around!," he said spinning.

"Yeah...," Martha said, doubtfully.

"C'mon then! We've got some exploring to do!"

"But you said th-"

"I know what I said. Which is why we're exploring," he interrupted.

With that, they were off. They wandered the streets of the great city of Nieva, stopping in here and there so the Doctor could ask vague questions about food and culture. Occasionally he glanced around the room, as if looking for a specific face amongst them.

Finally, Martha stopped him.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Martha?"

"What _exactly_ are we looking for?"

"Well, now if I told you, it'd spoil the fun, now wouldn't it?," he replied with a grin.

"It's just, we've been walking for hours and I-"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Shh," he said, holding a hand up, motioning her to stay put.

"Doctor, what is it?"

"It's her..."

"Her? Her who?," Martha inquired, more confused now that she had been earlier that day.

"It's a long story."

Walking briskly toward the woman, the Doctor called out to her.

"Miss! Excuse me miss!"

She stopped, looking puzzling.

"Yes?," she said, "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me where the library is."

"It's actually not far," she replied, "I could walk you over there if you'd like."

"That would be splendid."

The three of them began walking toward the center of the city.

"May I ask your name?"

"They call me the Doctor. And this is my traveling companion Martha."

"It's very nice to meet the both of you. You can call me Val."

"Is that short for something?," Martha inquired.

"No. Just Val," she responded, "Well, here we are. Have a nice day."

"Thanks, you too."

With that, the woman disappeared. The Doctor's hearts were beating out of time by this point. He had to tell her. He just had to. But how?

* * *

_That man seemed so familiar; like something from a dream. The Doctor. Who is he? I just can't place it._

Her thoughts were running rampant through her mind as she fumbled with the watch in her pocket. Who was that man and why did he seem so interested in her? It was like her mind was blocking something from her. But what?


	3. A Waking Dream

She could feel it; a sort of hum coming from the watch. And every now and then, she could swear it was glowing.

_I'm losing my mind. I'm seriously starting to go insane._

And yet, when she met that man and the pretty girl, the watch's presence in her pocket suddenly became noticeable. She had left them at the library yesterday, still puzzled by his interest in her. He had asked questions about her life; questions that most people on the streets of this town really didn't care about.

But he had wanted to know.

_I've got to find him._

With that, she left.

* * *

"Martha!," he yelled into the next room, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, where are we going today Doctor?"

"To the library. I'm got some research to do."

"Oh good. More research," she said with a sigh.

"Oh don't worry. We'll go to the market for some shopping too," he grinned at her.

_Who was that woman? He seemed to recognize her, but she had no idea who he was. I don't understand. But then, the Doctor seems to know everybody._

They walked through the streets of Nieva, making a beeline for the library. Upon arriving, Martha walked toward the Sci-Fi section, while the Doctor went straight for the historical records. She occasionally glanced over his way to see him furiously flipping through documents, as if searching for something in particular.

"Ah! Here we are!," he suddenly exclaimed.

Martha walked over to him.

"What is it Doctor?"

"Oh nothing. Just found what I was looking for."

"And what might that be?"

"You'll see," he smiled sheepishly.

They turned to leave, but just as they opened the door, there she was.

"Doctor," she began, "something told me you'd be here."

He stared at her, mouth slightly open, before snapping back into his usual cheerful self.

"Oh yes! Hi! How have you been?"

"I'm, well, I don't know."

"You don't know?," asked Martha. "How do you not know?"

"Well, this is going to sound silly, but something keeps telling me you're important, Doctor. And that I needed to find you. So here I am."

"Come now. Let's go for a walk."

* * *

They walked toward the park to avoid any crowds, and they all sat down at a picnic table.

"Val, do you remember anything from your childhood?"

She looked almost stunned by his question; it was as if he could see inside her mind and knew why she was lost and confused.

"Well, it's like vague partial memories. They're foggy and only half there."

"Hmm...I see..."

"I have what I assume are memories, but at the same time, it's almost like some of them are fabricated."

He saw her fumbling in her pocket.

"What have you got there?," he asked innocently.

"It's a watch, but I don't even remember where it came from. The latch has been stuck for as long as I can remember."

"May I see it?"

She handed it to him, and he turned it over in his hands, not letting on that he knew exactly what it was.

"Have you considered trying to open it?"

"I've tried before, but it's never worked."

"Well, how about one more time?"

She looked into his eyes. She felt like she should know those eyes. Like something from a dream, a waking dream.

Holding the watch in her hand, she gently pressed the clasp...

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the follows! Feel free to review. I'll update again soon :)**


	4. Revelations

It was as if his presence made the clasp give way. It opened slowly and the glowing was almost blinding.

"Doctor! What's going on?," Val asked, surprised and scared.

"It's alright Val," he reassured her, "I promise. Nothing's going to happen to you. Just let it happen."

Martha looked at him. She had seen this before.

"Oh my god...," she half-whispered, "Doctor, why didn't you say anything?"

"It would've spoiled the surprise," he smiled at Martha.

The energy flowed straight into Val, filling her with a bright golden light. It was all coming back to her now. The day she left Gallifrey, the evening when he had appeared to her, and the long days she had spent here on Nieva with nothing but scattered memories of a previous life.

Finally, the glowing stopped.

She looked at him from across the table.

"Doctor...," she began.

"Now I know what you're thinking Valkyrie. I know. Just let me explain."

"Doctor, how could you?"

She was nearly in tears.

"I think I'll walk over and get a coffee," said Martha, feeling the tension between the two.

"Val, darling, I didn't want to leave you behind. I was trying to protect you."

"From what? Why would I need protecting? We're timelords; we do the protecting."

"Listen, I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But I assure you it was for the best."

"I want to go home. I've been stuck on this planet for far too long. And you just LEFT me here!"

"I didn't leave you here. I was keeping you safe."

"Look, I just want to go home. I want to see my mother, my-our-children. I want to get away from this place."

"Well, sweetheart, that's part of the problem."

"What do you mean?," she said, her eyes full of confusion.

"The day I came to find you, a war had broken out."

"No..."

"The daleks..."

She was shaking her head slowly in disbelief. It couldn't be real.

"I had to time-lock the whole war."

"But...the children..."

"I didn't want them to fight either. But they insisted. They were adults. I begged them to go join you and they refused."

"So what does this mean?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he reached for her hand.

"Are there others?"

"I'm afraid we're the only ones left. Everyone is gone. All of Gallifrey, the timelords, the daleks; everyone and everything that was is gone."

Tears were streaming down her face now, as faint sobs racked her chest. She wanted him to smile and tell her it wasn't true. But that smile never came. Instead, he moved over to her side of the table and put his arms around her.

"Valkyrie, my love, I just wanted you to be safe. I had no other choice."

"I know, I just can't wrap my mind around it. The whole planet?"

He nodded.

"I didn't want to do it, but there was no other way. The daleks would have destroyed the whole universe given half a chance."

"I still want to get away from here. It's been too long."

"Travel with me and Martha then. I've missed you more than anything. You've always been my greatest and most precious companion."

She looked up at him, her eyes full of fresh tears, but with a silent resolve in them.

"I guess I should go home and pack. I'll meet you back here in a few hours."

He agreed and watched her walk away just as Martha was joining him again.

"So Doctor, are you gonna tell me who that was now?"

He turned to look at her.

"That, Martha, was Valkyrie. One of the greatest timeladies to ever exist."

"Oh, so she was powerful then? Was she on the council?"

"She was very powerful; she's my wife."

Martha's jaw dropped as she watched the small beautiful woman walk away.

* * *

**Another chapter's coming soon! Reviews are welcome!**


	5. Keeping Time

"You're WIFE?!," Martha exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me? We could've come here ages ago and you could've had her back already."

"I got busy. It wasn't intentional. I didn't want to leave her stuck here, but what with saving the universe and all, I had to wait. I had no choice," he said, hanging his head.

They sat in the park, waiting for Valkyrie to return. He wasn't even sure if she would return; she had seemed pretty upset.

"She looked so sad Doctor."

"I know," he said with a sigh.

"So the Time War, what happened with her? Why did you leave her here?"

"I did what I had to. I wanted to protect her. There was no other way. So I gave her that fob watch to conceal her identity so that she wouldn't be called back to Gallifrey. Essentially, the other timelords assumed she had just gone missing. I didn't want to lose her; I couldn't bear the thought of losing her. I wanted to do the same for our children, but they insisted on participating and I couldn't stop them."

"So she's the only one of your family who's left?"

"I'm afraid so," he said, sliding his glasses up on his nose to skim through an article in the local paper.

"So do you think she'll come back here?"

"I certainly hope so. I've missed her."

"You said she was powerful; what did you mean? What was she?"

"She was the Time Keeper."

"The Time Keeper? What's that?"

"Well...it's sort of like a historian, but more in depth. She was the keeper of all of time."

"Oh, okay," Martha said, with a bit of confusion.

"You saw the bracelet she was wearing?"

"Yeah, it was beautiful."

"Within the fibers of that bracelet, all of time and history are woven within, and only she has access to it."

"Wow...in that tiny little thing?," Martha said with disbelief.

"Timelord technology," he replied with a grin.

"Ah. Well then, I guess she's a walking database."

"Very well put Martha. Exactly right."

They both looked up as Val made her way over to the table. She had a suitcase in each hand and she set them down beside her feet.

"Oh hi, sweetheart," the Doctor said, motioning for her to sit next to him. He could see she was still upset.

"Hi," she said, glancing at him and Martha, "can we go now? I need to get out of here."

"Absolutely!," and he led them back to the TARDIS.

"Val, I didn't get a chance to say it before," Martha began, "but I'm really glad the Doctor found you. I know now that he won't ever have to be alone."

"Well, you travel with him don't you?"

"Yes, but I'm only human; eventually I'll have to leave. But you're like him, and that's good; he needs that."

Val smiled at Martha as they all stepped into the TARDIS, preparing for another journey.

* * *

**A/N: New chapter! Let me know what you think :)**


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